We arrived in Waikiki (Honolulu) for two relaxing days prior to boarding the beautiful Celebrity Edge for our cruise to Vancouver.
Determined to keep up our fitness routines, we walked over 7kms the first day and slightly less the second. And because the weather was so good (tops of 27C or so) we were able to walk day and night, whilst enjoying the odd glass of wine and eating a little too much.
Never far from our thoughts... we saw this beautiful mum with numbers of chicks in a local park
Sign at Waikiki Beach, just as well we were 11 floors up!
Sunset at the beach
The view from our 11th floor unit
The Celebrity Edge is one of Celebrity's newer vessels and we hadn't cruised on her before. To say she is luxurious is an understatement. Everything is bigger and more glamorous, including our stateroom which was spacious and modern. We only discovered a couple of days from the end of the cruise that we could actually operate the TV and lights in our room, from our mobile phones! It took us a couple of days just to find our way around, and instead of one main dining room, the Edge has four, each with a different theme. Added to this there are specialty restaurants, two of which we took advantage of...
Our first port of call was the largest town on the big island of Hawaii, called Hilo. Our plan was to take the free shuttle into town, but when we arrived at the departure point we discovered the next shuttle was not due for an hour, so we decided to walk... following many of our fellow passengers who had the same idea. The road was flat and easy walking, and 4kms later we arrived and so, unfortunately, did the rain!
We walked through a local market, window shopped the main street and enjoyed iced coffees at a nice little cafe before a quick look at the Tsunami Museum. It was there that the guide informed us that a 101 public bus would take us back to the ship, but it was leaving in less than twenty minutes. So, we hightailed it to the bus terminus, in heavy rain and without umbrellas, and boarded the bus for the dock.
The next morning, we docked in Kailua-Kona, not as big as Hilo, but definitely a more attractive tourist spot. The Edge was anchored offshore, so it was necessary to take a tender boat to town. We have often taken tenders from Celebrity ships, but these new tenders are the ultimate in luxury with spacious, comfortable leather-like seats, and a smoother ride.
On the first day we explored the town and enjoyed mocktails (non-alcoholic cocktails) at a beachfront restaurant.
The second day we took a local small group bus tour. Our first stop was the Oka Family Farms coffee estate where we learned the process of coffee bean harvest and roasting and tried two of their varieties of coffee. We then drove on to the Cloud Forest Sanctuary where we hiked through a beautiful rainforest and saw some amazing plants and flowers. Finally, we visited a quaint little beach which had historic significance and is also home to green turtles.
Oka Family Farm eight acres coffee plantation
Inside the roasting room
Ready to hike at the Cloud Forest Sanctuary
This 'growth' on a tree fern feels just like soft fur
A Rainbow Eucalypt. But the time the tree is around 50 years old the stripes turn to purple and blue!
Bromeliad
Anthurium
Pitcher plant
Bamboo
Hawaii does not have white sandy beaches like ours in Australia, due to the volcanic nature of the islands. So, Australia is one of the countries that has provided white sand to the island state. This beach, however, is a natural sand beach which is fairly rare.
Ancient wall, part of a long-lost thriving village
Green turtle (they're too quick to photograph)
These ripples are freshwater coming up out of the earth, one of only the freshwater aquifers on the Big Island. We were only at this beach for about 20 minutes, and the pool of water had grown exponentially in that time.
It was then time for our five days at sea as we cruised towards Vancouver. On board, in addition to eating and sleeping, there were tons of scheduled activities as diverse as golf putting, wine tasting, massage, swimming, beanbag throwing, steak cooking, knitting and crochet, etc. etc. But we always enjoy the Beyond the Podium lecture series on Celebrity, which on this cruise was hosted by Brent Nixon, a naturalist and former photographer with National Geographic and Animal Planet. He was also a character who really made his lectures come alive, and we so enjoyed his lectures on black and brown bears, orca, Bald Eagles and otters. His partner Amanda also gave lectures on famous women mariners, the Titanic and women of Pear Harbour.
In between lectures we played numerous games of Rummy Kub, which we'd brought from home, and really enjoyed the best live lounge entertainment ever - such talented and versatile musicians and singers from all over the world.
Backdrop to one of Brent Nixon's lectures in the theatre
A moving wall where birds and butterflies flit about
Two of the carved artworks around the ship
A 'walkway' of mirrored sculptures
Cafe Al Bacio where we enjoyed coffee after dinner each evening
At 10pm each night the bar staff here in the Martini Bar show off their juggling skills with bottles
One of many luxury shops - this one sells Cartier watches,
this one jewellery...
and this one fashion handbags
Our favourite lounge bar, the Eden at the stern is where we played Rummy Kub each afternoon, enjoyed the entertainment at night or just took in the views
And after a very enjoyable cruise, we arrived in Vancouver for two nights. Now we look forward to embarking upon our cruise through Alaska, aboard the Celebrity Solstice.
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